The uses of audio technology for communicating information simply and rapidly has long been recognized, and the modern office worker now relies extensively on audio communications systems as an aid for conducting his business. Telephones, messaginq systems, and dictation equipment are vital timesavers in most offices. This reliance is likely to increase as computers having text to voice message facilities become widely available.
In order to make effective use of conventional audio communications systems which employ loudspeakers, it is desirable that the office environment provide sufficient quiet and privacy, so that the user may clearly hear the output of the loudspeaker, while not disturbing his co-workers.
The trend toward the open plan office has diminished somewhat the freedom that the office worker has to effectively use communications devices which employ loudspeakers. In the open plan office, partial-height acoustic partitions are used to separate individual work areas. This "cubical" approach has many advantages in the modern company, the chief one being its flexibility. As companies undergo rapid growth or change, the partitions may be easily and inexpensively reassembled into new, more desirable office configurations.
Unfortunately, even though the partitions contain sound proofing materials, many open plan office environments are noisy and without privacy. Telephone conversations can be heard over the partitions. These offices do not provide the desirable degree of privacy for free use of conventional audio communications systems. Even the use of the speakerphone must be minimized, as it can contribute to sound intrusion levels. To cope with these problems, the office worker must limit himself to the use of handsets or headphones, rather than loudspeaker devices, to gain to control of sound intrusion levels and to ensure a degree of privacy in audio reception.
Besides being uncomfortable during extended periods of use, handsets and headphones generally mean that the office worker must be connected by a wire or cord to the audio communications device. This physical connection restricts the amount of mobility an office worker can enjoy within his office space. Further, where office workers spend most of their workday in an office chair supported on casters, wires and cords can get in the way and be rolled over and damaged.
Ideally, sound from the text-to-speech computer interface or simply a telephone should be presented such that the user is not linked to any part of the office by a cord. Yet it is important that the audio output be something the user can easily hear at all positions within the office (to maximize the utilization of the office space) while not disturbing others in the same office or in adjacent offices.